Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 4, 1993 TAG: 9311040218
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Here are some others and how they fared in the aftermath of the 1993 elections:
\ Jim Updike (winner): The Bedford County prosecutor's bid for the Democratic nomination for attorney general this spring was such a shoestring affair that many Virginia Democrats never knew who Updike was. But Updike was a good soldier after his defeat, plugging away as a surrogate for nominee Bill Dolan. That earned him brownie points he can redeem on a second try in 1997.
More important, though, many Democrats who initially dismissed Updike as a country bumpkin whose cameras-in-the-courtroom fame had gone to his head may reassess what he would have offered the ticket.
As a commonwealth's attorney, he has credibility as a crime fighter, an issue on which the Republicans skewered the Democrats. As a dramatic courtroom performer, Updike would have offered a spark of excitement, a quality this year's Democratic ticket sorely lacked. His union ties would have energized a key constituency that was lukewarm toward Mary Sue Terry. And his rural base might have helped shore up a part of the state where Terry's stance on guns cost the party voters.
If Updike wants to run again, he should start making plans now. He'll likely meet a more receptive audience.
\ Trixie Averill (winner): The Vinton homemaker was George Allen's top coordinator in Western Virginia. She professes little interest in policy-making. Nevertheless, she has the next governor's ear, and Roanoke Valley leaders who want a word with him will doubtless seek out her help.
In fact, that was happening well before the election: When Allen spoke at a September meeting of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, Explore Park Director Rupert Cutler was spotted seeking Averill's help in getting Allen to visit the park.
\ Brandon Bell (winner): The Republican state senator from Roanoke County has cut a low profile his first two years in Richmond.
But while the Roanoke Valley's other GOP state senator, Malfourd "Bo" Trumbo of Fincastle, stayed on the sidelines during the fight for the gubernatorial nomination, Bell signed up as an early and enthusiastic Allen supporter. Allen might reward him by directing key pieces of his legislative agenda Bell's way.
\ John Hancock (loser): The Roanoke Electric Steel founder was a prominent supporter of Gerald Baliles in the 1985 governor's race. That helps explain why Baliles endorsed one of Hancock's favorite projects - the Explore Park - and directed $6 million its way.
But Hancock and his circle of old-line Roanoke business leaders backed Republican Marshall Coleman in the 1989 governor's race, and found themselves out in the cold when Douglas Wilder won instead. This time, Hancock backed Terry, investing $26,000 in her campaign over the past four years.
It's not just that Hancock backed a loser, though. In the waning days of the campaign, Allen attacked Terry for cutting Hancock a break when the state reduced to $15,000 the $96,000 fine it levied against one of Hancock's companies, Shredded Products. (This was from the Montvale fluff fire in 1989.)
If Hancock wants to the state to put up money for Explore, or anything else, he should get someone else to ask Allen for the favor. Trixie Averill, perhaps?
\ Linda Moore (????): The Democratic operative from Roanoke County managed Don Beyer's upset victory for lieutenant governor in 1985 and his winning re-election bid this year. As the only Democrat left standing, Beyer's now the presumed nominee for governor in 1997.
That puts Moore in the envious position of having first dibs on running the campaign. But it won't be easy. Beyer won more by depicting Mike Farris as an extremist than by emphasizing his own record; he remains an enigma to many Virginians.
Not only will Moore have to chart a course for Beyer through the waters of an Allen administration, she'll have to figure out a way for him to reassemble a Democratic coalition and build up his name recognition.
She'll also have to see to it that Beyer, who's fond of quoting poetry and cracking obscure jokes, adds some gravitas to his whiz-kid persona. Otherwise, he risks coming across as the cosmic car dealer, a Virginia Jerry Brown - smart enough, but not tough enough, for the difficult tasks ahead.
\ Republican volunteers (winners) and Democratic volunteers (losers): In the 1970s, Virginia Republicans secured a technological advantage by emphasizing television, computer data bases and direct mail. In the 1980s, Democrats tried to duplicate the Republican success story - but went too far. In recent Virginia elections, Democrats have been all air war (on television and radio) and no ground war.
By contrast, the emergence of conservative Christian activists as a force in Republican politics has given the GOP a ready core of volunteers to put up signs and go door to door delivering literature.
Take Roanoke's Raleigh Court, a key swing neighborhood. Some houses there were hit by two Republican "lit drops" this fall, but Democratic workers never bothered to visit the neighborhood at all. Some Democratic activists are grumbling that the party must return to such door-to-door campaigning if it's to compete successfully.
\ Frank Longaker (????): The president of the Salem-based National Business College is a former Republican who mounted an independent bid for the state Senate in 1991. He also dropped a bundle of his own cash in the process, something both parties noticed.
Since then, Republicans courted him to return to the fold and challenge House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell. He didn't.
Democrats would love for Longaker to come over to their side and run against either Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke, for Congress next year, or Trumbo in 1995.
So far, Longaker professes to remain an independent; he's been a regular at local meetings of Ross Perot's United We Stand group. But Longaker appears to be tilting toward the Democrats. He organized a fund-raiser this fall for Cranwell. And at one point, Morgan Griffith, Salem's new Republican legislator, even called him "Cranwell's lackey."
Look for Longaker to run for something. What, when and how - those are the questions.
\ Steve Agee (loser): The outgoing Republican state legislator from Salem may have made a phenomenally bad career decision. Insisting it was time to move either up or out after an 11-year stay in the House of Delegates, Agee passed up a re-election bid to try for the Republican nomination for attorney general.
In a year when conservative Christian activists dominated the convention, the moderate-conservative Agee was swamped. Now he's out of politics altogether.
Had he sought re-election, Agee likely would have won without opposition - and emerged as a legislative leader in the expanded GOP delegation that Allen swept into office with him.
At age 40, Agee will have to settle for being an elder statesman in the Roanoke Valley instead; he's signed on as a leader of the New Century Council's effort to draft a regional economic vision.
\ Lewis-Gale Hospital (winner): For the second year in a row, the Lewis-Gale Hospital employees' group has made a big show of endorsing a candidate.
Last year, it was Goodlatte, who went on to win his congressional race. This year, it was Morgan Griffith, who won his contest for the House of Delegates in a landslide.
In each campaign, Lewis-Gale provided a valuable source of campaign volunteers. That's enough to make Lewis-Gale's endorsement a valuable commodity in future elections.
There's one catch, though: If Lewis-Gale keeps backing Republicans, its endorsement may become as predictable - and no more newsworthy - as when labor unions support Democrats.
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by CNB